Coronavirus: The 17 major COVID-19 developments that happened on Wednesday

Ambulance crews and military personnel await the first patients at the ExCel centre in London. (Getty Images)

Here’s what you need to know on 1 April. This article was updated at 5pm

Deaths: A total of 2,352 patients have died in hospital after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Tuesday, the Department of Health said, up by 563 from 1,789 the day before. Read more here.

A 13-year-old boy who is understood to have had no underlying health conditions is the youngest British victim of coronavirus. Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, 13, a schoolboy from Brixton, started showing symptoms and had trouble breathing on Thursday so was rushed to hospital, his relatives said. Read more here.

Policy: Special body recovery teams have begun work to deal with suspected coronavirus victims who die in their homes. Small units of police, fire and health service staff will confirm death and the identity of the dead and remove their bodies to a mortuary. Read more here.

The health secretary Matt Hancock has removed the cap for the number of health workers who can be tested each day for COVID-19. Previously, 85% of UK testing was allocated for patients with COVID-19 symptoms, with the remaining 15% kept for hospital staff. Read more here.

Testing: Pressure is growing for more coronavirus testing in the UK, as it emerged medical officials have ignored offers of help from some of the UK's leading scientific institutions to boost Britain's rate. Officials have repeatedly ignored offers from the likes of Oxford University and the renowned Francis Crick Institute involving hundreds of testing machines and trained personnel, according to the Daily Telegraph. Read more here.

Business: An Amazon warehouse will be deep-cleaned after a worker contracted COVID-19. The online shopping firm said it has been deep-cleaning areas of the building in Dunfermline and increased usual cleaning routines. Read more here.

The Business Secretary Alok Sharma has said £12 billion in grants for businesses is now with local authorities and urged them to pay it out “as quickly as possible”. He said he and the Chancellor Rishi Sunak would listen to concerns from businesses and would announce more in the coming days. Read more here.

NHS: More than 1.7 million people may have contracted Covid-19 so far, according to the NHS. New figures from NHS 111 online show there were 1,496,651 web-based assessments which flagged potential coronavirus cases based on people’s symptoms between March 28 and March 31. Read more here.

Crime: A woman arrested by police for breaking a new coronavirus law has been fined £660 by magistrates. According to police, Marie Dinou, 41, refused to explain to officers her reason for essential travel when they found her on a platform at Newcastle railway station. Read more here.

Royals: Prince Charles has praised NHS workers and urged people to have hope in a video message released two days after he stopped self-isolating having been diagnosed with coronavirus. Read more here.

Events: Edinburgh’s festivals have become the latest events to be cancelled or postponed over coronavirus fears. Read more here.

Sport: The All England Lawn Tennis Club has made the decision to cancel Wimbledon this summer. The next tournament will be held in 2021. Read more here.

Premier League football clubs have been told to cut their players' salaries before seeking taxpayers' cash to pay non-playing staff during the coronavirus crisis. Read more here.

Rest of the world

While many countries report a high number of coronavirus cases in the over-70s, in Australia, data shows many cases are in people aged 25-29. Read more here.

China said it has more than 1,300 asymptomatic coronavirus cases, the first time it has released such data following public concern over people who have tested positive but are not showing symptoms. Read more here.

Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice

A kind-hearted cafe owner has provided more than 3,500 meals to local NHS workers after embarking on a mission to feed nurses, doctors, paramedics and other vital staff at nearly hospitals every day. After hearing about the long hours NHS staff were working with few breaks and no chance to eat Kelly Iles, 44, set herself the task of feeding as many of them as she can. Read more here.

Joe Wicks’ morning PE lessons have raised £80,000 for the NHS. The personal trainer is running an online lesson every morning while children are being homeschooled. It comes as Boots announced it will donate over 200,000 essential toiletries to NHS hospital workers and charities supporting vulnerable people. Read more here.